Callahan Speakers Bureau


Chip Filson
President, Callahan & Associates, Inc.

Charles W. "Chip" Filson is an active leader in the credit union industry and a nationally recognized author, speaker and consultant for the credit union movement. As president of Callahan & Associates, Chip counsels many of the nation's largest credit unions.

Chip's expertise is drawn from a quarter century of government, financial institution and business experience. He served as Supervisor of the Illinois Credit Union Division before moving on to hold concurrent positions at the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as President of the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF) and Director of the Office of Examinations.

During his tenure at NCUA, Chip played an instrumental role in the deregulation of federal credit unions, the capitalization of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, and the opening of the CLF to all credit unions.

In 1985, Chip co-founded Callahan & Associates, Inc. Under Chip's leadership Callahan has become one of the nation's leading sources of financial information for credit unions.

Chip graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1966 with a degree in government. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he attended Oxford University and earned a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. Chip also holds a masters degree in management from Northwestern University's Kellogg School. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1973 with tours of duty on the USS Windham County (LST-1170) and the Naval Supply Depot in Yokosuka, Japan.

Jon Jeffreys
Investments & ALM, Financial Performance

Jon speaks on the following topics:
Investment management, investment strategy, maximizing investment portfolios, investments to compliment the balance sheet, risk assessment on the balance sheet, hedging the balance sheet, hedging strategies to minimize risk, general credit union trends, general economic trends, challenges of converting to a community charter, online financial resources to members, and cutting edge technology that can impact the way credit unions do business.

Jon works in the Callahan Financial Services branch of Callahan & Associates. In addition to working hands on with several hundred credit unions on their investment portfolios, he also customizes individual presentations for boards, ranging from multi billion to ten million dollar institutions.

Past speeches: Duration management, State of the State, Economic Overview, Investment Strategies, reoccurring speaker on WesCorp's Quarterly Trend Conference Call, Investing from the CEO perspective, Essential Elements of an Effective ALM / Investment Policy, Numerous customized board presentations, Goldman Sach's Credit Union Investment Conference, Featured Speaker at Xtend CUSO Launch, Pennsylvania Credit Union Association Fall Leadership conference, and reoccurring speeches at quarterly trustee meetings for the Trust for Credit Unions family of Mutual Funds.

Past Articles: Be Ready, the Shares Are Coming . . ., Strategic Ways to Outsource Content Management, Increased Member Value and Transactions Through Your Website; Do your Members know the difference between a credit union and a bank?

References: Brian McVeigh, State Employees (MI); Scott Waite, Patelco; Brad Canfield, BECU
Investments & ALM, Financial Performance

Jay Johnson
Executive Vice President, Callahan & Associates, Inc.

Jay Johnson is Executive Vice President with Callahan & Associates, Inc., focusing on the development and production of the company's financial publications, software applications and research studies.

Jay presents credit union performance trends and best practices in key business areas such as delivery channel management, mortgage services and auto lending to regional and national credit union conferences, as well as credit union planning sessions. Previous conference appearances include the CUNA CFO Council, National Association of Community Credit Unions, Western CUNA Management School, Credit Union Direct Lending and RSM McGladrey.

Jay's prior professional experience includes management of the seventh largest sweep program among U.S. banks while at Wachovia Corporation. He also participated in the organization of the Financial Services Industry Group at Wachovia.

A native of Phoenix, Johnson earned a BBA from Southern Methodist University and an MBA from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He is a CFA charterholder and holds his Series 7, 24, 27 and 63 securities licenses.

Past Articles: The Challenge of Creating Member Value, Technology Spending Expected to Exceed $600 Million in Credit Unions in 2004, Timely Information to Revolutionize Credit Union Auto Lending (Callahan Report), Is There a Cooperative Opportunity in Health Savings Accounts? (Callahan Report)

Melanie El-Sabaawi
Executive Vice President, Callahan Financial Services

Melanie El-Sabaawi is Executive Vice President of Callahan Financial Services, a subsidiary of Callahan & Associates, the credit union research, consulting and publishing firm.

Melanie has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. She began her career at Callahan & Associates in 1989 and spent four years working with the Trust for Credit Unions during the launch and early years of the Ultra-Short Duration and Short Duration Portfolios. From 1994 to 2000, she held several positions in the Investments Division of ICMA Retirement Corporation, where she was responsible for fund design, asset allocation and investment analytics for the Vantagepoint family of mutual funds. She spent two years overseas with an emerging markets blue chip that was listed on the London Stock Exchange. That experience, while enjoyable, reinforced the value of cooperative models of economic development and prompted her return to the credit union industry.

Melanie rejoined Callahan & Associates in 2004 and is responsible for managing the 40-partner Credit Union Financial Services Limited Partnership (CUFSLP) as well as the Trust for Credit Unions. Her particular focus is developing collaborative approaches to strategic issues.

Melanie graduated from the University of Virginia and earned an MBA from Georgetown University. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Past Speeches: Best Practices of High-Performing Credit Unions (AICPA National Conference on Credit Unions), The Future of Credit Unions: Intelligent Design or a Darwinian Process? (Open Solutions Credit Union CEO Forum), Credit Union Opportunities in a Time of Transition (WesCorp CEO Networking Roundtable)

Past Articles: (Bubble) Trouble in the Real Estate Market?; Credit Union System Lags in Fast-Growing Loan Segment



Scott Patterson
Vice President, e-Commerce

Scott Patterson is Vice President of e-Commerce at Callahan & Associates. In this role, he applies his knowledge of technology and business to evolve the organization’s Internet strategy and to assist credit unions in the development of their own online strategy. Under Scott's management, CreditUnions.com has grown to be the industry's largest B2B portal, boasting some 13,000 registered subscribers and over 100,000 users each month. Scott also directs the Callahan Credit Union Online Survey Consortium, a group of 21 institutions redefining how credit unions deliver member value through online services.

Scott speaks on the following topics: Internet Strategies for Financial Service Providers, Enhanced e-Member Communications Strategies, Account-to-Account (A2A) Transfer Strategies, Digital Knowledge Management Techniques, Intranet Strategies, Online Auto & Mortgage Lending, e-Statement Adoption Strategies, Web Site Redesign/Navigation/Content Approaches, Online Member Education Strategies, Automated Online Member Acquisition, Online Identity Theft Protection, and Specialized Analysis of the Data Processing, Internet Home Banking, Bill Payment, and E-Statement sectors.

Past Speeches: The Options and Opportunities of Member-Directed ACH Transactions (A2A), Next Steps: Financial Services Internet Strategy v2.0 (2005), Dimensions of e-Member Service: Digital Communications Strategies with Members, The State of Account Aggregation in the Credit Union System, Best Practice Intranet Strategies, Digital Intelligence: An Exploration of the Knowledge Base Opportunity, Increasing Online Bill Payment Service Usage, Building a Winning Internet Strategy, The Opportunity of a Lifetime: The IRA Opportunity for Credit Unions

Past Articles:Who's in the Driver's Seat at Your Credit Union?, Intranets Grow Up, Get Personal , Credit Union Internet Strategy: Version 2.0 (2004 Tech Survey Publication), Positioning Credit Unions at the Center of Members’ Financial Relationships, Enhanced IRA Opportunity for Long-Term Member Relationship, Using Technology To Manage Organizational Knowledge (2004 Financial Yearbook), Meeting Member Service Needs Through Technology Evolution (Callahan 2005 CU Directory)

Mary Royston
Marketing Manager

Mary speaks on the following topics:
Cooperative marketing strategies, Effectively using mass media, Community charter expansion, Serving the low wealth segment and Expanding community involvement through a foundation, Youth marketing approaches, The importance of generation Y.

Mary is the Marketing Manager of Callahan & Associates. She directs all marketing initiatives for Callahan publications, webinars, and research. Mary also leads the company's research efforts that explore effective credit union marketing strategies. In her role, she regularly writes articles for CreditUnions.com's 14,000 registered subscribers and hosts nationally broadcasted events on successful strategies for reaching both members and non-members. Mary recently spoke at CUNA's Marketing and Business Development Conference on Serving Those with Modest Means and is a member of Toastmasters International.

Past speeches: Growing and Expanding Member Relationships in the Credit Union Industry, Member Growth with a Focus on SEG Development, Serving Those with Modest Means, Incorporating Branding and Media Into Your Organizational Strategy, Successful Cooperative Marketing Strategies, Expanding to a Community Charter: Key Success Factors, ExpandingCommunity Presence Through a Credit Union Foundation, Leveraging the Power of e-Statements, and Strategies for Bill Payment Program Success.

Past Articles: State Department FCU Shares Advice and Budgeting Tips on Reaching Youth, Maine Credit Unions Cooperatively Advertise…, CommunityAmerica Ballpark: A Strategic Media Home Run?, Charlotte Metro Offers the Underserved a "Safe" Step

References: Margo Szeliga, Pentagon Federal Credit Union; Andrea Carpenter, Lockheed Federal Credit Union